John McDonnell

When John McDonnell began his coaching career at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville–choosing it over Norman, Oklahoma, because Fayetteville reminded him of his native Ireland–he could hardly have imagined that he would become the most successful coach in the history of American collegiate athletics. But, in thirty-six years at the university, he amassed a staggering résumé of accomplishments, including forty national championships (eleven cross country, nineteen indoor track, and ten outdoor track), the most by any coach in any sport in NCAA history. His teams at Arkansas won the triple crown (a championship in cross country, indoor track, and outdoor track in a single school year) a record five times. The Razorbacks also won eighty-three conference championships (thirty-eight in the Southwest Conference and forty-six in the Southeastern Conference), including thirty-four consecutive conference championships in cross country from 1974 to 2008. McDonnell coached 185 All-Americans, fifty-four individual national champions, and twenty-three Olympians. And from 1984 to 1995, his Razorback teams won twelve consecutive NCAA Indoor Track Championships, the longest streak of national titles by any school in any sport in NCAA history. This biography tells the story of the McDonnell’s life and legacy, from his childhood growing up on a farm in 1940s County Mayo, Ireland, to his own running career, to the beginnings of his life as a coach, to all the great athletes he mentored along the way.

“The book is a big one. It has more than 400 pages of copy and photos, another 21 pages of records and seven pages of footnotes. In other words, it’s a track junkie’s delight. It should also find its place on the bookshelves of thousands of Razorback fans statewide even if track isn’t their favorite sport.” –Rex Nelson, Sporting Life Arkansas

“John McDonnell is not only one of the greatest track and cross-country coaches ever but a national treasure whose influence on the sport and on the young men he’s nurtured will last for generations. McDonnell’s life story illuminates the subtle ways in which he acquired and expanded on the knowledge that led to a record number of NCAA titles while gaining insights into both the psychology and physiology that produced peak performances. A fascinating book.” –Marc Bloom, track and field journalist and author of God on the Starting Line